The Museum of Illusions,
opened September 2018 in New York City’s West Village. You might assume by its
name that it is a children’s museum or about magic, which depends greatly on
illusion — it is neither of these. Nor can it be considered an
“attraction, ” although many of the exhibits are interactive, as you get to
help create the illusions. The purpose of this museum is really about educating
visitors on the physical and psychological science behind illusion. With two-
and three-dimensional illusions on the walls and floors that will
mesmerize visitors of all ages, placards posted near each exhibit provide the
explanations to help you understand what you are viewing and how the illusion
is created. While the museum does not explicitly delve into magic, when
you leave, you will have a better understanding of how some magic tricks work.
We thoroughly enjoyed
this museum with its many surprises. One of our favorite exhibits was a room
with a sloped floor — a monitor shows that you appear to be growing smaller and
smaller as you walk across the floor. Another fun, interactive exhibit is where
a visitor pokes her head out of the middle of the table, but all you see is a
head on top of the table with no body.
Friendly staff are
available to give you clues about the illusions, help you figure out where to
stand to get the most effective view, explain the science behind a particular
illusion, and take your picture. In fact, the museum welcomes photography
because the digital photograph makes it easier to visualize many of the
illusions. At the front of the museum, a staff member is ready to have two of
your party pose as part of an illusion relating to perspective (check out the
photo where Marty is patting Laurie’s head — we are literally a few feet from
each other! And no — Laurie is not that small).
Photography is encouraged at the Museum of Illusions; a photograph makes it easier to visualize many of the illusions. Friendly staff members are available to help take the photo.
The museum is housed in
a bank building dating back to pre-Depression 1920s. Before you leave, be sure
to ask to see the old bank vault.
(Be advised: the only
downside of the Museum of Illusions is that it has mobility limitations – there
is no handrail on the outside steps leading up to the main door and no
alternate ramp. The second floor is only accessible by a narrow staircase with
a banister — there is no elevator. On the other hand, visitors with mobility
issues are admitted free.)
The Museum of Illusions
(77th 8th Ave, New York, NY; https://newyork.museumofillusions.us/) is open Monday – Thursday, 9am to 10pm; Friday
– Sunday 8am to 11pm. To explore with smaller crowds, try to arrive
before noon. Plan for 45 minutes to 1-½ hours to walk the entire museum, and
bring a camera to capture the illusions at their best! Tickets are $19/adult;
$17/senior, military, students with ID; and $15/kids 6-13 years of age (under 6
is free). Tickets may be purchased online with a small service fee.
From its founding in the 1930s to the end of weekly publication in the 1970s, LIFE Magazine elevated and showcased photojournalism. Instead of just being the acoutrement to reporting, the photos were the story, or as Henry R. Luce saw it, the photojournalist as essayist.
During
that time, only six out of 101 full-time LIFE
photographers were women. Now, for the first time, these women – who contributed
so much to the evolution of photojournalism as well as the cultural and
societal trends they spotlighted – are
featured in their own exhibit, LIFE: Six Women Photographers, at the New-York
Historical Society through October 6, 2019.
“For the editors of LIFE—the first magazine to tell stories with photographs rather than text—the camera was not merely a reporter, but also a potent commentator with the power to frame news and events for a popular audience. For decades, Americans saw the world through the lens of the magazine’s photographers. Between the late 1930s and the early 1970s, LIFE magazine retained only six women photographers as full-time staff or on a semi-permanent basis. LIFE: Six Women Photographers showcases the work of some of those women and how their work contributed to LIFE’s pursuit of American identity through photojournalism,” the curators write. The exhibition features more than 70 images showcasing the extraordinary work created by Margaret Bourke-White, Hansel Mieth, Marie Hansen, Martha Holmes, Nina Leen, and Lisa Larsen.
How were these women part of a larger editorial vision? What topics did
they cover, and how did their work reflect—and sometimes expand—the mission of
the magazine? The exhibit reveals these photographers’ important role in
creating modern photojournalism and defining what LIFE editor-in-chief Henry Luce called the
“American Century.” The level of influence that LIFE Magazine wielded was
considerable – at its height, one out of every three Americans read the
magazine each month.
We learn that of the six, three were immigrants of whom two fled Fascist
Europe. In all, they produced 3,000 stories, 325,000 images that curator Sarah
Gordon, curatorial scholar in women’s history at NYHS’ Center for Women’s
History, and Marilyn Satin Kushner, curator and head, Department of
Prints, Photographs, and Architectural Collections, combed through to select
out the 70 images featured in the exhibit. The exhibit, interestingly,
highlights not only the photos that were selected for publication, but photos
out of the series that were not, as well as the contact sheets. There are also
displays with the magazine opened to the page, and notes from the
photographers.
Asked how the six featured stories were selected out of the
photographers’ 3,000, Kushner reflects, “We thought about what we wanted to
show and say – that kept me up at night, how to tie as a thread. The first
thought was to show a woman’s point of view, but then we don’t know how a man
would have treated the same subject. What the women did was illustrate Luce’s
idea, that the photos [depict] the American story.”
Margaret Bourke-White, one of the first four staff photographers, her image of Fort Peck Dam was the cover of LIFE Magazine’s inaugural cover ; she photographed from front lines in World War II, and worked for LIFE until her death in 1971
Yet, except for Margaret Bourke-White’s famous series on the Fort Peck Dam – illustrative of her talent to show Industrial America and technological progress – the photo essays selected for this exhibit predominantly show women and women’s issues – wrestling with their place in society after World War II’s independence, the WACS. And even when there is a story, like the Dam, Bourke-White and others showed a great sensitivity to how ordinary people – families – lived. Bourke-White chose to show shantytowns that developed around the dam, and what Saturday night dancehall was like.
Her telegram to her editor reads, “Swell subjects especially shanty
towns. Getting good nightlife. Nobody camera shy except ladies of evening but hope conquer them
also…. May I give one picture FortPeck Publishing booklet for local sale. Would
help repay their many courtesies. Could choose pattern picture we probably wouldn’t
use anyway.”
How did they get their assignments? “Sometimes the women wrote and
asked for an assignment, but usually were told to ‘do that’” Kushner tells me. Luce
wanted LIFE Magazine to reflect the American Century, and while Bourke-White
documented steel mills and dams – America’s technology and industrial
achievements – she also depicted new towns in the middle of no where, “FDR’s
New Wild West.”
Standing in front of one of the most controversial and substantial
photos in the exhibition – Martha Holmes’ 1949 image of singer Billy Eckstine being embraced
by a white female fan, surrounded by
other gleeful white teenagers – I meet Holmes’
daughter, Anne Holmes Waxman, and granddaughter of the photographer, Martha
Holmes., Eva Koshel Castleton.
“My mother came on when a lot of men were in the war. Born in
Louisville, Kentucky, she was working as a photographer at the Courier-Journal
when Life Magazine came to recruit her to come to New York. “She was shaking in
her boots, just 24 years old. She never went back.”
The exhibit shows the contact sheet with other images of multiracial crowds waiting for tickets and autographs, but the editors chose to publish the more controversial image. They were so concerned that they sought permission from Luce, who agreed with Holmes that the photograph reflected social progress and was appropriate for the story. “Holmes felt the photo was one of her best, claiming ‘it told just what the world should be like.’ The magazine, however, received vicious letters in response and the fallout adversely affected Eckstine’s career.”
LIFE Magazine photographer Martha Holmes.
In the weekly report of letters received for April 24 issue, “Fifty-nine readers are very much upset. ‘That picture of Billy Eckstine with a white girl clinging to him after a performance just turns my stomach. Why a teen-age white girl conducts herself in this manner over a Negro crooner is beyond me. Juvenile delinquency is bad enough in our own race without mixing it up with another.” “The most nauseating picture of the year.” “That picture qualifies as the most indecent picture ever published by LIFE.” “ That picture should have appeared in Pravda Your publication of it leads me to believe that Mr. Chambers was not the only Communist on your staff.” Eight readers cancelled their subscriptions, but nine praised the feature.
(What I notice in the magazine that is featured in the display is the
ad for new Coty eye cosmetics . “Eyes of natural glamour. Newest style in
beauty.”)
I ask her daughter Anne whether her mother got or lost certain
assignments because of being a woman. She related that the only assignment her
mother turned down was when, she was 8 ½ months pregnant with her, in 1956, and
had to refuse an assignment to photograph Elvis Presley. “It was the one job
she couldn’t take.” But she is renowned for her photos of artist Jackson
Pollack and the House on UnAmerican Activities hearings.
LIFE Magazine photographer Nina Leen.
A very interesting series, “The American Woman’s Dilemma” by Nina Leen, published in the July 16, 1947 issue, danced around the issue of “how are you going to get them back on the farm, after they’ve seen Par-ee” – in this case, women who worked traditionally male jobs and had independence during the war, now being shoved back into housework and child-rearing rather than pursue a career. “The essay also reflected cultural anxieties about a ‘return to normalcy’ after the Depression and war. LIFE assumed that all women desired marriage and children but voiced concern that a woman’s time was so stretched, she did not have time to pursue her husband’s interests.
“The article barely acknowledged that many women had no choice but to
find work. It did recognize women’s struggles with child care buit disparaged
separation as creating insecure children.” Only one of Leen’s photos of an unmarried
woman made the cut. “This article represented a clear attempt at setting out
women’s choices in the post-war era of societal realignment.” (The article is
opposite an ad for Singer sewing machines; LIFE Magazine clearly had an
investment in women as homemakers, wanting the latest appliances.)
LIFE Magazine photographer Marie Hansen’s series “The WAACs” (September 7, 1942) helped America accept the idea of women in uniform..LIFE photographer Hansel Mieth.
Hansel Mieth
is represented by her feature on “International Ladies’ Garment Workers: How a
Great Union Works Inside and Out” (August 1, 1938). She worked as a migrant
worker in California when she first emigrated to the US from Germany, and
photographed fellow migrant workers in San Francisco, the city’s neighborhoods
and cultural enclaves before LIFE hired her in 1937, publishing her socially
engaged photo essays over the next seven years.
Among Lisa Larsen’s iconic assignments for LIFE was photographing the John F. Kennedy-Jacqueline Bouvier wedding in 1953.
I am left to wonder to what extent were the projects reshaped by a woman’s perspective, or how much the women photographers were directed to focus on “women’s subjects”. Even Lisa Larsen’s feature, “Tito as Soviet Hero, How Times Have Changed!” (from June 25, 1956) featured a spread, “Wives Materialize to Greet a Visitor.” We would have to see many more examples of the photographers’ assignments to make that appraisal, and hope these topics will be revealed in future exhibits NY-HS’ Women’s Center.
Based on this cursory examination, it seems Luce wasn’t being progressive in having women photographers for their point of view. He was realizing that women were the market for advertisers. And they were used to socialize women back to their pre-World War II prescribed roles – as homemakers and consumers.
The exhibit is curated by Sarah Gordon, curatorial scholar in women’s history, Center for Women’s History, and Marilyn Satin Kushner, curator and head, Department of Prints, Photographs, and Architectural Collections; with Erin Levitsky, Ryerson University; and William J. Simmons, Andrew Mellon Foundation Pre-Doctoral Fellow, Center for Women’s History.
NYHS brilliantly uses its space to maximize an immersion into Women’s
History. Just outside the Women Photographers of LIFE Magazine exhibit is Women’s Voices, a multimedia digital installation
where visitors can discover the hidden connections among exceptional and
unknown women who left their mark on New York and the nation, even going back
to Colonial America. Featuring interviews, profiles, and biographies, Women’s Voices unfolds across
nine oversized touchscreens to tell the story of activists, scientists,
performers, athletic champions, social change advocates, writers, and educators
through video, audio, music, text, and images.
Among the many fascinating profiles featured in Women’s Voices are those of
the first Latina Supreme Court Justice, Sonia Sotomayor; Nobel Prize-winning
scientist Barbara McClintock; civil rights activist and poet Audre Lorde; the
first woman to receive a medical degree in the U.S., Elizabeth Blackwell;
award-winning actress Meryl Streep; Brooklyn-born opera star Beverly Sills;
Seneca leader and artisan Caroline Parker Mountpleasant; trailblazing dancer
and principal ballerina Misty Copeland; the Manhattan Project physicist who was
snubbed by the Nobel Prize committee, Chien-Shiung Wu; Gilded Age novelist
Edith Wharton; and the teacher whose 1854 lawsuit helped desegregate public
transit in New York, Elizabeth Jennings Graham, among others.
There
are also displays about the International Ladies Garment Workers Union (ILGWU),
Women’s Activism and Billie Jean King. And in the middle of the floor is a most
sensational gallery devoted to Tiffany, which includes a fascinating display
about Clara Driscoll, who headed the
Women’s Glass Cutting Department of some 45-55 young women (mainly 16-17
year olds who would work until they went off to be engaged). And who until this
exhibit was unheralded for her role in creating many of Tiffany’s iconic designs.
Revolutionary Summer at New-York Historical Society
Also on view:
The New-York Historical Society, the oldest museum in New York, celebrates Revolutionary Summer, a Museum-wide exploration of Revolutionary War times, Revolutionary Summerpresents outdoor events every weekend featuring characters from the era; 18th-century art and artifacts; a diorama of the Continental Army; and a host of programs for all ages, including trivia nights, a DJ evening, and a Revolutionary Drag Tea Party. On select weekends, visitors can explore a replica of George Washington’s Headquarters Tent at an outdoor Continental Army encampment, meet Living Historians portraying soldiers and spies, and learn about the many facets of camp life during the War for Independence.
“We’re
so excited to welcome visitors to New-York Historical this summer with a full
line-up of fun ways to experience the Revolutionary era,” said Dr. Louise
Mirrer, president and CEO of the New-York Historical Society. “Revolutionary
Summer celebrates the outstanding, revolutionary times that
ignited the birth of our country with everything from a scavenger hunt to the
chance to meet George Washington.”
The centerpiece of Revolutionary Summer is
a replica of George Washington’s Headquarters Tent, on display in New-York
Historical’s outdoor courtyard on select weekends. The original Tent is on
display at the Museum of the American Revolution (MoAR) in Philadelphia. Often
called the “first Oval Office,” the Headquarters Tent was where Washington and
his most trusted staff plotted the strategy that ultimately won the
Revolutionary War. On loan from MoAR, this painstakingly detailed, hand-sewn
replica—made of custom woven linen and wool fabrics—was created as part of a
collaboration between MoAR and Colonial Williamsburg. The Tent is staffed by MoAR
educators, who lead visitors on an immersive tour through history. (On view July
4–7, 26–28, August
16–18, 23–25, September
13–15)
A host of special installations and artifacts are on view at New-York
Historical as part of Revolutionary Summer. One of the
highlights is a recently discovered watercolor painting of the 1782 Continental
Army encampment at Verplanck’s Point, New York—the only known eyewitness image
of Washington’s Headquarters Tent during the Revolutionary War—on loan from
MoAR. Other highlights include a camp cot used by Washington at Valley Forge
during the winter of 1777; John Trumbull’s iconic painting of Washington that
he gave to Martha Washington in 1790; and a pipe tomahawk gifted by Washington
to Seneca Chief Sagoyewatha. Also on display is a diorama depicting the
Verplanck’s Point encampment and the Hudson River shoreline, providing visitors
with a 360-degree view of the scope and scale of Washington’s forces.
Revolutionary Summer also showcases historic documents
from the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, including an original
1823 William J. Stone facsimile of the Declaration of Independence; a broadside
from King George III announcing the armistice and officially ending the war;
and a letter by Martha Washington detailing domestic life in the aftermath of
the Revolution.
Independence Day Celebration: Celebrate the Fourth of July
exploring George Washington’s encampment! Enter his Headquarters Tent, meet the
man himself, and experience where the future first president strategized,
dined, and slept while MoAR staff describe his daily life. Also on tap:
singalongs with the Hudson River Ramblers; fife and drum corps music; a
one-woman play about Deborah Sampson, the woman who disguised her gender to
enlist in the Continental Army; family-friendly food for purchase; and Living
Historians portraying soldiers from the Continental Army, as well as John
Adams, who’ll read the Declaration of Independence. Free Admission for
kids age 17 and under
And this fall, the New-York Historical Society explores the life and accomplishments of Paul Revere (1734–1818), the Revolutionary War patriot immortalized in Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s 1860 poem, “Paul Revere’s Ride.” On view September 6, 2019 – January 12, 2020, Beyond Midnight: Paul Revere separates fact from fiction, revealing Revere as a complex, multifaceted figure at the intersection of America’s social, economic, artistic, and political life in Revolutionary War-era Boston as it re-examines his life as an artisan, activist and entrepreneur. The exhibition, featuring more than 140 objects, highlights aspects of Revere’s versatile career as an artisan, including engravings, such as his well-known depiction of the Boston Massacre; glimmering silver tea services made for prominent clients; everyday objects such as thimbles, tankards, and teapots; and important public commissions, such as a bronze courthouse bell.
Exhibitions
at the New-York Historical Society are made possible by Dr. Agnes Hsu-Tang and
Oscar Tang, the Saunders Trust for American History, the New York City
Department of Cultural Affairs, and the New York State Council on the Arts with
the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature.
New-York Historical Society, 170 Central Park West (77th Street), New York, NY 10024, 212-873-3400, nyhistory.org.
On a grand night at the Cradle of Aviation Museum in Uniondale, Long Island, five of the Apollo astronauts, including three of only 12 men who have ever walked on the moon, and two flight directors who controlled the Apollo missions, reflected on their experiences. It was an epic event in a year of events at the museum marking the 50th Anniversary of the first man to walk on the moon, inspiring interest in space science, which will climax on July 20 at the exact moment when Neil Armstrong made his “giant leap for mankind.”
The
Cradle of Aviation Museum has special meaning to the astronauts, many of whom
have come to the museum over the years to give talks and participate in events.
Not only is it home to one of the world’s most extensive collections of Lunar
Modules,(LM-13, LTA-1), Lunar Module parts and Lunar Module photos and
documentation, but it also is home to the engineers of Grumman Aerospace
Corporation that designed, built and tested the Lunar Modules between 1961-1972
which successfully landed 12 men on the moon between 1969-1972.
Here
are highlights from the discussion of Walt Cunningham (Lunar
Module Pilot, Apollo 7), Rusty Schweickart(Lunar Module Pilot, Apollo 9), Fred Haise(Lunar Module Pilot, Apollo 13). Charlie Duke (Lunar
Module Pilot, Apollo 16), Harrison Schmitt(Lunar
Module Pilot, Apollo 17) and Apollo Flight Directors, Gerry
Griffin and Milt Windler.
Rusty Schweickartwas the first to pilot the Lunar Module, testing the craft on the Apollo 9 mission in 1969 before it was used on the moon in Apollo 11. He was one of the first astronauts to space-walk without a tether, and one of the first to transmit live TV pictures from space. He is also credited with development of the hardware and procedures which prolonged the life of the Skylab space station.
Schweickart reflected on a moment when he was essentially stranded in space. “I turned around and looked at earth, brilliant blue horizon. There was no sound – I was floating inside my suit which was floating. Just hanging out looking at earth, completely silent. My responsibility at that moment was to absorb: I’m a human being. Questions floated in: how did I get here, why was I here. I realized the answer was not simple. What does ‘I’ mean? ‘Me’ or ‘us’. Humanity – our partnership with machines allowed humankind to move out to this environment. 10,000 years from now, it will still be the moment when humanity stepped out to space. While we celebrate something we were part of, it’s one of the events in human history, , that if we don’t wipe ourselves out, we will still have this unique moment in time when life moved out to outer space.”
Fred Haise,the Lunar Module Pilot on the Apollo 13 mission, would have been the 6th man to walk on the moon. After the Apollo program ended in 1977, he worked on the Shuttle program, and after retiring from NASA, worked for 16 years as an executive for Northrop Grumman Corporation.
Haise reflected that when JFK made his challenge to go to the moon before the end of the decade, he thought this was mission impossible based on where the technology was. “I saw nothing at hand that would have accomplished that. By then, there was just Alan Shepherd who went up and down, the rockets were invented by Germans in World War II.”
When the disaster struck the Apollo 13 – an oxygen tank exploded, crippling the Service Module which supplied power and life support to the Command Module, he reflected, “We weren’t afraid. All of us in the program did the best we could. We were aware of the problems. Everyone was willing to pay the price to make the mission successful.”
The
situation was not immediately life-threatening . ”Clearly we had lost one tank. I was sick to
my stomach with disappointment that we had lost the moon. It took us almost an
hour to stop the leak in the second tank. “
The Lunar Module was pressed into service as a literally lifeboat and tugboat – a role never anticipated for it.
“The LM bought time. I was never worried. Not sure how it would operate past the two days. Nothing had been damaged in the LM, so I knew we had a homestead we could operate from, and people on the ground were losing a lot of sleep working through the challenges. We never really got to the cliff we were about the fall off.”
Despite great hardship caused by limited power, loss of cabin heat, shortage of cooling water and the critical need to make repairs to the carbon dioxide removal system, the crew returned safely to Earth. It was hailed as the most successful failure.
Charlie Duke (Lunar Module Pilot, Apollo 16, the 10th person to walk on the moon and the youngest, at 36 years old), reflected “Driving over the surface of the moon, we didn’t have TV. I was the travel guide for mission control, 250,000 miles away. So I narrated, ‘Now we’re passing on the right…’ – giving a travelogue – as we drove from point A to point B, and I was taking pictures. My job was to get us A to B and describe for mission control what seeing while John was driving…
“The rover did tremendously well, it revolutionized lunar exploration. Prior, we had to walk everywhere, not the easiest thing. Thankfully the rover was a revolution to see so much. Say to all the Grumman folks here who worked on that, you guys built a great machine. We shared the moon speed record because the odometer only went to 17 mph. Three rovers are up there – if you want an $8 million car with a dead battery.”
Harrison Schmitt(Lunar Module Pilot, Apollo 17) was also a former geologist, professor, US Senator from New Mexico. He was the lunar module pilot on Apollo 17, the final manned lunar landing mission. He was the first scientist and one of the last astronauts to walk on the moon – the 12th man and second youngest person to set foot on the moon.
“The thing about our valley [where the
mission explored], Apollo worked in a brilliant sun, as brilliant as any New
Mexico sun, but the sky was absolute black. That was hard to get used to. We
grow up with blue skies. I never felt comfortable with black sky. But in that
black sky was of course that seemingly small planet Earth, always hanging over
the same part of the valley. Whenever I was homesick, I would just look up –
home was only 250,000 miles away.”
Milt Windler was one of the four flight directors of Apollo 13 Mission Operations Team, all of whom were awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Richard M. Nixon for their work in guiding the crippled spacecraft safely back to Earth. Formerly a jet fight pilot, he joined NASA in 1959 during Project Mercury. Windler also served as a flight director for Apollo 8, 10, 11, 14, 15 and all three Skylab missions. After Apollo, he worked in the Space shuttle project office on Remote Manipulator Systems Operations until 1978. He is the recipient of the NASA Exceptional Service Medal.
Reflecting on the Apollo 13 mission, he said, “It is a common misconception that flight control was one person all 15 days of a mission. But missions were divided into distinct phases – launch, lunar descent, EVA, rendezvous – and there were teams for each. Each team simulated, practiced problems. One of the things that worked well on Apollo was anticipating what would happen. After a flight, we would discuss lessons learned, to come up with improvements. By the time of Apollo 13 developed a real serious problem, we were a finely honed machine.”
Gerry Griffinjoined NASA in 1964 as flight controller in Mission Control during Project Gemini. In 1968, he was named a Mission Control flight director, for all the Apollo manned mission. Gerry’s “Gold” team conducted half of the lunar landings made during Apollo 14, 16, and 17, and would have conducted the landing of Apollo 13 but played a key role in the safe return of the astronauts. Later Griffin played several Hollywood roles in movies including “Apollo 13, “ “Contact”, Deep Space” and “From the Earth to the Moon,”, as a consultant and even an actor.
The astronauts reflected on the “perfect storm”
of forces and factors that resulted in the incomparable space program that put
a man on the moon within a decade – Griffin, quoting Neil Armstrong, said you
needed four things: threat, bold leadership, public support and resources. “He
said that most of the time, those are out of sequence with each other – you may
have the threat but not the resources. It was a perfect storm when Apollo
happened”: the threat from the Soviet Union taking mastery of space frontier; a
balanced budget not yet weighted down by national debt; bold political
leadership and public support. “You had the resources and human resources,
primarily from World War II from the aviation industry, with Grumman part of
that.
“If
it hadn’t been Apollo, it would have been something else. When the Soviets
launched Sputnik and then Gagarin [became the first man in space], the threat
was clear, and everything else fell into line. I think he’s right. Nowadays, we
have a threat now – China – those guys are good. There is a technological
threat now, and could be more later. Leadership? Draw your own conclusion. Resources?
We haven’t had them. Public support? … But I’m an optimistic. If we are going
to make 2024 – that’s awful tight, but I was like Fred, I didn’t think we could
land on moon in the 1960s, but we did. Maybe if things line up better, we could
do it by 2024, if not 2028.”
Asked why we haven’t been back to the moon, Schweickart said, “You need to be young, innovative, not an aging bureaucracy….
“You
need technological, political courage. The moon was in exactly the right place.
The next steps are not quite that easy . There is a debate between going back
to the moon or on to Mars that has raged for years and still does. There’s not
the same opportunity that we had at that time. In many ways, the most important
thing in terms of a sense of challenge, moving out, moving forward is one of
age. Bureaucracy – corporation or government – where the average age increases
every year, you’re cooked.”
They
are much more encouraged by private enterprise taking over space exploration.
“You don’t see much about Blue Origin and Jeff Bezos, but we will. When you see
[Elon Musks’s] SpaceX launch Falcon 9, Falcon Heavy and bring back two stages
that land in formation, and the cameras show all these kids, 20 years old,
hooping and hollering, they did it! That’s what it takes. NASA used to be that
way. Part of the real juice in space exploration is encouraging private
activities in space. That today is where most of the juice is, getting young
people involved is the key, giving them the opportunity. Jeff Bezos says it
well. His fundamental motivating, commitment to space is to reduce the cost so
more and more can take part and therefore dramatically increase the quality and
opportunity for innovation. As the cost of getting to space drops, the
creativity will dramatically increase. That’s where it’s at in the future.”
Walt Cunningham a fighter pilot before he became an astronaut, in 1968, he was a Lunar Module Pilot on the Apollo 7 mission. He’s also been a physicist, entrepreneur, venture capitalist and author of “The All American Boys.”
“Our society is changing,”
he reflected the next evening when he gave a lecture at the museum. “Back when
Apollo was a story of exploration and adventure – my generation – we had te opportunity
and courage to reach around the moon and to the stars. We were willing to take
risks, didn’t shy from unknown. In those days, it seemed normal to do what we
were doing – exploring the next frontier. Today, the entire world takes pride
in this greatest adventure.”
Sixty years ago, “the
main drive was beating Russians to the moon. They beat us around earth. When
that started a technological fight to finish, not a single American had been in
orbit, but Kennedy was willing to take the risk – not just technological, but
human, economic, political. He took the initiative, the leadership. Today, that
goal is history. Fifty years ago, we never thought of failing –we had fighter
pilot attitude – common dream to test limits of imagination, daring.
“That attitude enabled
us to overcome obstacles. Any project as complex as Apollo required resources,
technology, but most importantly, the will. Driven by the Cold War, all three came
together in the 1960s and we went to moon. Think of it: only three generations separated
man’s first flight off the earth and man’s first orbit around the earth. Only
three generations.”
Somewhat
ironically, on the same day as the astronauts were assembled at Cradle of
Aviation, President Donald Trump was contradicting Vice President Mike Pence
and his own policy, which said that the US would be back on the moon by 2024.
Trump called another moon mission a
waste of money which should be spent, instead to go to Mars.
Trump also has called for the creation of a
Space Force, a new branch of the armed forces, effectively undoing the spirit
of international cooperation in space exploration to advance human knowledge,
with a shift toward militarizing space.
The countdown clock in the lobby of the Cradle of Aviation Museum showed 43 days to July 20, the 50th anniversary of the first man to walk on the moon, on the night of the museum’s grand gala at which seven former astronauts and flight directors were feted – Walt Cunningham (Lunar Module Pilot, Apollo 7), Rusty Schweickart(Lunar Module Pilot, Apollo 9), Fred Haise(Lunar Module Pilot, Apollo 13). Charlie Duke (Lunar Module Pilot, Apollo 16), Harrison Schmitt(Lunar Module Pilot, Apollo 17) and Apollo Flight Directors, Gerry Griffin and Milt Windler – along with Grumman employees who built the lunar module and the equipment which put them there.
Throughout this year, the Cradle of Aviation Museum in Uniondale, Long Island, not far from where the lunar module was designed and built by Grumman engineers in Bethpage and a stone’s throw from Roosevelt Field where Charles Lindbergh took off for his historic transatlantic flight to Paris, has been hosting special events to mark the anniversary, use it for STEM education and inspire a new generation eager to reach for the stars.
The events climax on July 20, when at the exact same moment as Neil Armstrong made his “giant leap for mankind”, a replica lunar module will descend from the ceiling. Museum goers also can see an actual lunar module, one of the six that Grumman built (three are still on the moon, and the other three are in the Smithsonian’s National Air & Space Museum in Washington DC, the Kennedy Space Center in Florida and here at the Cradle of Aviation Museum).
One of the extraordinary exhibits on view at the museum now is“Space: A Journey to Our Future,” which is on view through August 18, 2019, an absolutely thrilling, immersive exhibit which takes you from the dawn of man’s earliest visions of space exploration to the heroic achievements of the past, the unfolding discoveries of today, and the frontiers of the universe that lie ahead. You get to touch actual rocks from the lunar surface and the red planet, explore a futuristic Lunar Base Camp while walking through a full-size space habitat and work pod, get an up-close look at a wide range of artifacts from the space program and experience the past, present and future of space through these and dozens of other displays, interactive (try your hand at landing the space shuttle!) and experiences.
Also, as part of this special celebration, the museumis showing Todd Douglas Miller’s new documentary film, “Apollo 11: First Steps Edition,” a special giant-screen edition created exclusively for science centers and museum theaters, like Cradle’s Dome Theater. With a newly-discovered trove of never-before-seen 70mm footage and audio recordings, APOLLO 11: First Steps Edition joins Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins, the Mission Control team and millions of spectators around the world, during those momentous days and hours in 1969 when humankind took a giant leap into the future.
The “Apollo
at 50: Moon Fest,” on July 20 will be a family festival (9:30-5 pm, with
activities 12-4pm) with visits from Long Island Space Shuttle Astronauts
including Bill Shepherd (Babylon) and Charlie Carmada (Ozone Park). All day
activities include virtual reality experiences, model rocket launches, and a countdown
at 4:18 pm to collectively watch, re-experience, and honor as a community, the
historic “The Eagle has Landed” Lunar Module landing on the moon. As a special
bonus, all museum attendees will get a free showing of the new highly-acclaimed
documentary, Apollo 11 First Steps Edition in the immersive
Dome Theater. (Tickets: $20)
Then, in the evening, there will be a Countdown Celebration, a lively dinner and champagne toast with 1960s music and dancing, as the community watches and re-experiences the unforgettable first steps on the moon at 10:56 pm with a special moon landing viewing and countdown. There will also be photo opportunities in a re-created 1969 living room. (The dinner event ticket includes admission to Apollo Moon Fest events during the day; tickets: $125).
Long
Island: The Nation’s Cradle of Aviation
The
Cradle of Aviation Museum and Education Center is home to over 75 planes and
spacecraft representing over 100 years
of aviation history, from hot air balloons to the lunar module, in eight
galleries, a planetarium and Long Island’s only Giant Screen Dome Theater.
The Cradle of Aviation Museum commemorates and
celebrates Long Island’s part in the history of aviation and space
exploration. It is set on land once part of Mitchel Air Force
Base which, together with nearby Roosevelt Field and other
airfields on the Hempstead Plains, was the site of many historic flights.
In fact, so many seminal flights occurred in the area, that by the mid-1920s
the cluster of airfields was already dubbed the “Cradle of Aviation”, the
origin of the museum’s name. The Museum was recently recognized and listed on New
York State’s National Register of Historic Places as a significant part of
American history.
The museum originally opened with just a handful of aircraft
in the un-restored hangars in 1980. A major renovation and expansion program in
the late 1990s allowed the museum to re-open in a state-of-the-art facility in
2002. The museum is undergoing a major fund-raising campaign for a future
expansion.
It is remarkable to
contemplate that within a century, aviation went from the Wright Brothers to
the moon, from a dangerous sport to mass transportation and commercial
enterprise, and Long Island played a significant part.
It starts with Long Island’s geography: a natural airfield,
on the eastern edge of the United States, the western edge of the Atlantic
Ocean, adjacent to a major population center, and Hempstead Plains, the only
natural prairie east of the Allegheny Mountains, writes Joshua Stoff, Curator,
Cradle of Aviation Museum.
We trace flying back to the Wright Brothers at Kitty Hawk, NC
in 1903, lasting 59 seconds over a distance of 852 feet but Stoff notes that the
first recorded aircraft flight took place on Long Island, in 1896 when a
Lilienthal-type glider was flown from the bluffs along Nassau County’s north
shore. By 1902 gasoline-powered airships were flown over Brooklyn (why doesn’t
Long Island get more credit?). By 1910, there were three airfields operating on
the Hempstead Plains, Long Islanders were building their own planes, and there
were several flying schools and aircraft factories that made Long Island “the
center of the aviation world.” Exhibits show artifacts of these early pursuits.
Belmont Park hosted the 1910 International Aviation Meet of
the greatest aviators from America and Europe.
“The period between 1918
and 1939 is considered the ‘Golden Age of Aviation’ when flying went from being
a dangerous sport to a major commercial industry,” Stoff writes. Most famous of
all was Charles Lindbergh’s historic solo transatlantic flight, from Roosevelt
Field to Paris, in 1927. “This single event revolutionized aviation as nothing
else before or since…
“By the early 1930s Roosevelt Field was the largest and
busiest civilian airfield in America with over 150 aviation businesses and 450
planes based there. In 1937 the first regular commercial transatlantic airline
service in America was begun at Port Washington as huge Pan American Martin and
Boeing flying boats departed and arrived regularly at Manhasset Bay.”
World War II sparked aviation and demand for aircraft. The two
biggest aircraft companies, Grumman, was founded in Long island in 1930;
Republic in 1931. They produced most of the military aircraft; other companies,
Sperry, Brewster, Ranger, and Columbia, also contributed to the war effort. By
1945, 100,000 Long Islanders were employed in the aircraft industry.
Though aircraft are no longer manufactured on Long Island
(the Grumman plant in Bethpage is now a movie and television studio), it is
surprising to realize that there are still 240 Long Island producing parts for
virtually every American aircraft that flies.
Long Island’s important
contribution to aviation is brilliant displayed in exhibits throughout the
halls.
Thomas J. Kelly, of
Cutchogue, retired president of the Grumman Space Station Integration Division
and formerly lunar module engineering director, writes that there is still some
Long Island left on the moon – six spacecraft built on Long Island remain on
the moon,
Designing and building those craft, as part of the greater
challenge of beating the Russians to the moon by 1969, was a monumental
endeavor. Writing on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the
moon landing, Kelly reflected, “For some 7,000 Grumman employees, however, it
was far more intimate than an issue of national prestige. We felt personally
empowered to put Americans at the edge of a frontier that even today seems
incomprehensible. Yet not only did we succeed in meeting the mission; the
efforts of our nation’s commitment to lunar exploration also inspired people
around the world and showed the finest possibilities of human achievement and
of creating technology that now helps to power our society…
“Nobody at Grumman who worked on the LM will ever forget it.
Even the 12-and 14-hour weekdays, the frustrating paperwork and the sheer
complexity of designing, building and testing the module could not dim our
dedication. From the sweeper to the chief engineer, we all knew that we were
part of a majestic endeavor, that we were making history happen.”
At the gala, I meet Richard A. Hoffman sitting in front of the museum’s own actual lunar module, built by Grumman in Bethpage. He was a metallurgist who determined what the different parts should be made of aluminum for the struts, titanium for the propellant tanks, stainless steel propellant lines, high output silver and silver oxide batteries. He had to figure the pyrotechnics that would cause the four bolts that secured the module on the descent, to burst at just the right time with guillotine cutters for lift off from the moon. Hoffman told me he came to Grumman in the summer of 1963, and got a job there right after graduating Brooklyn Polytech in 1964. He was in just the right place at the right time, when Grumman started working on the Apollo program and he was transferred to engineering.
Dr. Ruth Westheimer, the famous sex therapist, claims
to have a rule against commenting on politics “someone who talks about sex as
much as I do can’t tackle politics.” And yet, positions on sexual freedom,
AIDs, abortion rights and reproductive freedom, and more recently, drawing upon
painful memories as a Holocaust survivor, on the rise of anti-Semitism and how
migrant children are being snatched from their families at the southern border.
She claims not to be a feminist, but when her
granddaughter prods her on her views on abortion, on equal pay, on whether men and
women should be equal in their relationship, and insists she is the text-book
definition of a feminist, Dr. Ruth relents and says she is a feminist
supporter, not a radical (she doesn’t hold with burning bras).
She also stood stalwartly for same-sex relationships
and was an early advocate for research into prevention and cure of AIDs. She
has consistently championed a philosophy of respect for individuals, that there
is no such thing as “normal,” but that two consenting adults should do what
brings both joy and satisfaction.
She claims to have a rule against commenting on
politics “someone who talks about sex as much as I do can’t tackle politics.”
And yet, positions on sexual freedom, AIDs, abortion and now, anti-Semitism,
invariably bring her into that realm.
She has come to the Gold Coast Arts Center in Great
Neck, Long Island, on May 8, for the screening of a documentary about her life,
“Ask Dr. Ruth.” The connection to these issues is Michael Glickman, a former
president of the Arts Center and President
& CEO, the Museum of Jewish Heritage (New York’s
Holocaust Museum), where Dr. Ruth is also a trustee, and presently has an
important exhibit, “Auschwitz: Not long ago. Not far away” which opened May 8.
The documentary of her life focuses considerable
attention on the Holocaust and how it shaped her life – beginning as a 10 year
old, packed up on a train with other Orthodox Jewish children to Switzerland,
forced to leave her mother and grandmother at a train station in Frankfurt (her
father had already been taken by Nazis to a labor camp). She never saw her
family again, but describes how she felt in those years living at an orphanage.
Her son and daughter say how she never really
discussed her experience in the Holocaust nor fully mourned the loss of her
family, but we see – through old photos and animation and diary entries – what she
experienced. And it was only relatively recently that she brought herself to
Yad VaShem in Israel to search the database to find out what happened to her
parents. In the movie, she realizes that something is wrong when letters stop
coming from her parents, and after years go by, she accepts that she is an
orphan. She learns that her father was murdered in 1942 in Auschwitz, and her
mother was simply “disappeared.”
But what we see throughout is an unbelievably
positive, optimistic personality who was able to get the other children on that
train to sing away their fear.
Dr. Ruth, as she delights in being known (the first tv/radio host to be known just by the first name), is turning 91 years old now, and on her 90th birthday, she reflected how 80 years before, she was on that train bravely waving goodbye to her family (her parents gave her life twice – the second time when they sent her away); 70 years before, she nearly lost her legs when a bomb went off in Israel, where she was a sniper in the Haganah.
While in the orphanage in Switzerland, the girls
were being trained to become housemaids and weren’t allowed to attend high
school, but her father always prized education. Her first boyfriend would sneak
into her room at night with his textbooks, and hide under her bed while she read
that day’s lessons.
After the war, she emigrated to Israel (Palestine)
with some friends, changing her name from Karola, which sounded too German, to
her middle name, Ruth (and hoping that her family, if they were still alive,
could find her).
She’s been married three times – the first time to a
very good-looking Israeli soldier; who took her to Paris with him when he
attended medical school, affording the opportunity for her to study psychology
at the Sorbonne; they divorced when he decided not to become a doctor and to
return to Israel and she stayed to finish her studies.
In 1956, with $1,500 in restitution from the West
German government, she and her boyfriend sailed to New York, traveling fourth
class on the Liberty but sneaking up to first class in order to be able to view
the Statue of Liberty as the ship came into New York harbor. They married after
she got pregnant, but the marriage didn’t last.
She was a single parent and a working mother when
that was still a rarity and an oddity. “We were very poor. There were no other
single mothers…“I was on the forefront.” (One of my favorite parts of the
movie was the clip of her talking with Gloria Steinem.)
She worked for Planned Parenthood in Harlem, where
she found herself participating in frank discussions about sex. By 1967, she was project director. She worked
towards her doctorate in family and sex counseling at Columbia University,
working with Helen Singer Kaplan, a pioneer in the field of sex therapy.
On a ski trip in the Catskills, she met the love of her life, Fred Westheimer who was the head of the Jewish Ski Club, 35 years old, an engineer and never married. From the first time she saw him, she was determined they would marry. They were married for more than 40 years before he died, in 1997, after a heart attack.
Dr. Ruth, a 4 foot 7 inch tall woman famous for saying “Size doesn’t matter,” got her doctorate at the age of 42 and set up practice as a sex therapist.
A lecture she
delivered in 1980 came to the attention of Betty Elam, community affairs
manager of the New York radio station WYNY-FM, who offered Ruth $25 a week to
make Sexually Speaking, a 15-minute show every Sunday that would air shortly after
midnight. The show became a hit, expanding to two-hours, and by 1984 was
nationally syndicated.
Her influence as the “Goddess
of Good Sex,” as one called her, expanded with a syndicated newspaper column,
television shows, appearances in movies and even commercials and a website.
She continues to live
in the same Washington Heights apartment she has lived in for more than 54
years, saying that she feels comfortable among other immigrants.
The movie is expertly
done – telling the story of a life that is even more dramatic and worthy of a
movie than most people, who knew of Dr. Ruth only as someone breaking down
barriers of frank talk about sex, realized. Who knew she was a sniper with the
Haganah in the early days of Israel, who was caught in a bomb blast and almost
lost her legs? Who knew she was married three times (the first two were
legalized love affairs, she jokes, the third was the real thing). And who knew
of the tragedy she suffered as a Holocaust survivor.
She expresses her
absolute surprise (and delight) in becoming a radio, then TV host (“I’m not
tall, blonde, gorgeous”), but notes that being an older, mature woman
(grandmotherly), she was able to get away with talking explicitly about sex,
using such words as vagina, clitoris, masturbation. The fact that the Sexual
Revolution (the Pill is 50 years old) was underway, with women beginning to
demand their rights and identity, also was a factor. Still, as the film notes,
there were censors standing by, protests, even a man who came up on stage where
she was speaking to make a citizen’s arrest.
In the film, she revisits
people from her childhood – her first boyfriend when she was 13 from the
orphanage in Switzerland where she was sent by her mother to escape the Nazis (“My
parents gave me life twice, the first time giving birth, the second time
sending me away so I could live”); her childhood friend who lives in Israel;
her earliest radio producers.
It shows her dogged
determination to get an education – something her father, who owned a notions
shop, valued so highly. She earned her Masters, then her PhD.
Media regulations at the
time required radio stations to do community-oriented broadcasting and a
producer appreciated how different Dr. Ruth would be, so put her show,
pre-taped on a Thursday, on Sunday at midnight. Her show became more popular than
most of the morning drive shows and they put her on live. She notes that she
never previewed what questions the callers would be asking, so she could
respond spontaneously (on the other hand, on TV, the people posing the
questions were actors, though she still did not know what issues they would
raise).
When asked her greatest
experience, she replies “My 4 grandchildren… You know, Hitler is dead and I
and my grandchildren are alive.”
Asked about her reaction to the movie, she said she had trepidation about the device of using animation to show her early life, but the two Israelis who did the animation “did it brilliantly.”
She reflected on the scene they re-created at the railroad station in 1938, when she was 10 and being sent away by her mother and grandmother. “You know, there were all the other mothers and grandmothers – the fathers had been taken – but they did something brilliant [in suggesting there were only a few on the platform]: you could feel the loneliness of a mother and grandmother saying goodbye, not knowing what would happen, but sending their only child to safety. When I saw this – and I didn’t see it before it was done – I was very happy with the film.”
She jokes, “I promise
good sex for anybody who gives this film an [Oscar] nomination.”
She acknowledges that
she had not spoken much in the past about being a Holocaust survivor, but that
the new exhibit at the Museum of Jewish Heritage, “Auschwitz: Not Long Ago, Not
Far Away,” has brought that aspect of her life out. “My work has been about how
to educate, to make sure it doesn’t happen again.”
“You have to go twice to the exhibit,” she
says. “The first time you will be very upset. Go again to learn something about
the history of Nazis coming to power.
“In the front [of the
museum] is a cattle car –it is upsetting because I know parents, other
grandparents- all of them went on a car like that – very upsetting – that makes
me feel like I felt January 5 1939. On the other hand, you have to stand up to
be counted, especially these days.
“As you have heard, I don’t
do politics, but these days, I have to talk about anti-Semitism, to stand up
and say all of us have to fight so this will not happen again.”
Also, “as you have seen
in the film clearly, to stand up that abortion must remain legal and family
planning needs funding.”
Though she does not “do
politics,” she won an Oxford debate defending abortion and family planning. “I’m
going again –I probably will be the oldest at age 91.” This time she will be
debating pornography.
Asked about her opinion
of dating apps like Tinder, Dr. Ruth says, “I did not plant that question – but
this summer, I have a book coming which warns about apps. It’s not that you
shouldn’t use, but you have to use your brains not to meet in a secluded place
– to meet in hotel lobby, movie, some place safe.
“Another thing that
worries me – in my new book, is that the art of conversation is being
lost. Everyone is looking at their phone as if world will crumble if not constantly
looking. It’s difficult to have conversation. But the best sexual relationship
is also when you have a good relationship.”
In another book that Dr.
Ruth is coming out with this year, “Crocodile You’re Beautiful,” she says, “I
am telling a little ant to be happy to be an ant – because if you cooperate, you
can build bridges.”
Asked if she has been
back to Frankfurt, where she was born, she says she goes each year to the Frankfurt
book fair, and “every year I am back with a new contract. I also taught a
seminar at Heidelberg. I have no problems with people my age or younger – it’s older
people I didn’t want to know – like Fiddler. On the other hand, the Adenauer
from Germany was instrumental in getting money to Israel when it was just being
born. And even today, I go to Israel every year and even today there are young
Germans who go for the summer or year to volunteer in old age homes. I appreciate
that.”
But, she adds, saying, “Thank
you for question – I never came near to that railroad station –it’s too painful
– so whenever I had to go some place, I went around not to go to railroad
station where I saw my mother and grandmother for the last time.”
She says that for her
Masters degree, she did a longitudinal study of 50 children “who came with me
to orphanage in Switzerland. I found them all, I went to archives in
Switzerland and was in touch with many. They all made it – none of them
committed suicide, none became drug addicts or alcoholics. The reason is the
early socialization –their early years
of childhood. I was 10 ½ – the youngest was 6 – so the early
socialization, all had in loving home with parents. That helped them all to
overcome becoming orphans. They should do more studies about early socialization,
how important early childhood years are.”
She adds, “I do say I am
not involved in politics, except these days I have changed my mind – I am very
upset when I see children being separated.”
She
closes by urging people to visit the “Auschwitz” exhibit at the Museum for
Jewish Heritage. “it’s the most
remarkable Holocaust exhibition in this country.”
Thegroundbreaking
exhibition, on view through January 3, 2020, brings together more than 700
original objects and 400 photographs from over 20 institutions and museums
around the world. “Auschwitz. Not long ago. Not far away” is the
most comprehensive exhibition dedicated to the history of Auschwitz – a complex
of 48 concentration and extermination camps where 1 million Jews and tens of
thousands of others were murdered – and its role in the Holocaust ever
presented in North America, and an unparalleled opportunity to confront the
singular face of human evil—one that arose not long ago and not far away. (Edmond J. Safra Plaza, 36
Battery Place, New York, NY 10280 https://mjhnyc.org/discover-the-exhibition/about-the-exhibition/)
The
Global Scavenger Hunt teams arrive in New York City for the last leg of the
Global Scavenger Hunt that has taken us to 10 countries in 23 days. Bill
Chalmers, the ringmaster and Chief Experience Officer of this around-the-world
mystery tour, in which the challenges and scavenges are designed to get us out
of our comfort zone and immerse us in a culture, fine-tune our skills as world
travelers, and most significantly, “trust in the kindness of strangers.” Back
in New York, he is delighted all 10 teams circumnavigated the world “in one
piece” without dramatic incident, in this, the 15th annual Global
Scavenger Hunt competition.
The
leading teams vying for the title of “World’s Greatest Travelers” as we enter
this final leg of the contest in 4th place, SLO Folks from
California with 96 points (where the low-score wins); in 3rd, Order
& Chaos, doctors from San Francisco with 81 points; in 2nd
place, Lazy Monday, computer networking consultant and think tank professional
from California with 46 points, and Lawyers Without Borders, from Houston, with
33 points, five-time winners who are competing in the Global Scavenger Hunt for
the 12th time.
There
is one more challenge in New York (an easy urban Par 1), and even though, based
on points and placement, the winners of the 15th annual, 2019
edition of the Global Scavenger Hunt have been determined, still the teams go
out and give it their all. Those in contention must complete at least one of
the scavenges in New York, and complete their time sheet and hand in by the 4
pm deadline.
Examples
of the scavenges: take in a
Yankees game or a Broadway show; have one of each of following: a New
York bagel, a New York hot dog, a New York deli sandwich, a slice of New York
pizza, New York cheesecake, a New York egg cream, or an old-fashion Manhattan; -locate
five pieces from five of the nations you just visited in the Met; visit
Strawberry Fields, pay John Lennon tribute; do one scavenge in each of
the five boroughs of New York City.
A
native New Yorker, this is really my turf (though there is the oddest sensation
of feeling like I am in a foreign place, reminding myself of what is familiar
like language, money, streets, drink water, eat salad), and I delight in
walking up Madison Avenue to 82nd Street to the Metropolitan Museum
of Art on Fifth Avenue.
I
elect to take up the challenge of going to the Metropolitan Museum of Art to
seek out objects from five of the countries we visited (Canada, Vietnam,
Myanmar, Thailand, Abu Dhabi, Jordan, Greece, Morocco, Gibraltar, Portugal,
Spain). Greece will be easy, of course, but Morocco and Jordan (Petra), Vietnam
and Myanmar (Burma) are just a bit trickier. It is Chalmers’ way of making us
experience things on a different level, and for me, it brings together so much
of what we’ve seen, learned and experienced along the way.
I
first join a docent-led Highlights Tour, knowing from past experience that
these always lead me to parts of the museum I am unfamiliar with, and enlighten
about aspects of art and culture with the in-depth discussion of the pieces the
docents select to discuss.
The
docent, Alan, begins in the Greco-Roman exhibit with a stunning marble
sculpture of the Three Graces, showing how this theme – essentially copied from
the Greek bronzes (which no longer exist because the bronze was valuable and
melted down for military use) – was repeated over the eons, into the
Renaissance and even beyond.
Obviously, finding an object from Greece is going to be easy, and I hope to find objects from Vietnam, Myanmar (Burma), and Thailand in the Asia wing where there is a massive collection of Buddhist art (it proves just a tad more difficult, but I succeed). Morocco and Jordan (Petra) proved trickier than I expected, but brought me to an astonishing exhibit, “The World Between Empires: Art and Identity in the Ancient Middle East,” with an extraordinary focus on the territories and trading networks of the Middle East that were contested between the Roman and Parthian Empires (ca. 100 BC and AD 250). “yet across the region life was not defined by these two superpowers alone. Local cultural and religious traditions flourished and sculptures, wall paintings, jewelry and other objects reveal how ancient identities were expressed through art.”
The
exhibit features 190 works from museums in the Middle East, Europe and the
United States in an exhibition that follows the great incense and silk routes
that connected cities in southwestern Arabia, Nabataea, Judea, Syria and
Mesopotamia, that made the region a center of global trade along with spreading
ideas, spurring innovations (such as in water control), and spawning art and
culture.
It
was the most incredible feeling to come upon the objects from Petra, having
visited the site (was it only 10 days ago?) and having a context for seeing these
isolated objects on display.
The World between Empires
The landmark exhibition The World between Empires: Art and Identity in the Ancient Middle East, which is on view through June 23, 2019, focuses on the remarkable cultural, religious and commercial exchange that took place in cities including Petra, Baalbek, Palmyra and Hatra between 100 B.C. and A.D. 250. “During this transformative period, the Middle East was the center of global commerce and the meeting point of two powerful empires—Parthian Iran in the east and Rome in the west—that struggled for regional control.”
The exhibition focuses on the diverse and distinctive
cities and people that flourished in this environment by featuring 190 outstanding
examples of stone and bronze sculpture, wall paintings, jewelry, and other
objects from museums in the United States, Europe, and the Middle East.
Among the highlights is a Nabataean religious shrine,
reconstructed from architectural elements in collections in the United States
and Jordan; the unique Magdala Stone, discovered in a first-century synagogue
at Migdal (ancient Magdala) and whose imagery refers to the Temple in
Jerusalem; and wall paintings from a church in Dura-Europos that are the
earliest securely dated images of Jesus. Sculptures from Baalbek illuminate
religious traditions at one of the greatest sanctuaries in the ancient Middle
East, and funerary portraits from Palmyra bring visitors face to face with
ancient people. The exhibition also examines important contemporary
issues—above all, the deliberate destruction and looting of sites including
Palmyra, Dura-Europos, and Hatra.
“The compelling works of art in this exhibition
offer a view into how people in the ancient Middle East sought to define
themselves during a time of tremendous religious, creative, and political
activity, revealing aspects of their lives and communities that resonate some
two millennia later,” said Max Hollein, Director, The Metropolitan Museum of Art. “Further,
in focusing on an area of the world that has been deeply affected by recent
conflicts and the destruction of sites, monuments, and objects, this show also
engages with complex questions about the preservation of cultural heritage.”
The exhibition evokes a journey along ancient trade routes,
beginning in the southwestern Arabian kingdoms that grew rich from the caravan
trade in frankincense and myrrh harvested there and used throughout the ancient
world. Camel caravans crossed the desert to the Nabataean kingdom, with its
spectacular capital city of Petra, which I had just visited, walking through
very much as the caravan travelers would have.
From here, goods traveled west to the Mediterranean and north and
east through regions including Judaea and the Phoenician coast and across the
Syrian desert, where the oasis city of Palmyra controlled trade routes that
connected the Mediterranean world to Mesopotamia and Iran and ultimately China.
In Mesopotamia, merchants transported cargoes down the Tigris and Euphrates
rivers to the Persian Gulf, where they joined maritime trade routes to India.
These connections transcended the borders of empires, forming networks that
linked cities and individuals over vast distances.
Across the entire region, diverse local political and religious
identities were expressed in art. Artifacts from Judaea give a powerful sense
of ancient Jewish identity during a critical period of struggle with Roman
rule. Architectural sculptures from the colossal sanctuary at Baalbek and
statuettes of its deities reveal the intertwined nature of Roman and ancient
Middle Eastern religious practices. Funerary portraits from Palmyra represent
the elite of an important hub of global trade. Wall paintings and sculptures
from Dura-Europos on the River Euphrates illustrate the striking religious
diversity of a settlement at the imperial frontier. And in Mesopotamia, texts
from the last Babylonian cuneiform libraries show how ancient temple
institutions waned and finally disappeared during this transformative period.
In Athens and Petra, particularly, you appreciate this synergy
between trade, migration, environmental sustainability and technology (in
Petra, the ability to control water supply was key), economic prosperity and
political power, and the rise of art, culture, and community.
It is rare (if ever ) for the Metropolitan Museum to venture into
the political, but a key topic within the exhibition is the impact of recent
armed conflicts in Iraq, Syria, and Yemen on archaeological sites, monuments,
and museums, including deliberate destruction and looting. Some of the most
iconic sites affected—Palmyra, Hatra, and Dura-Europos—are featured in the
exhibition, which discusses this damage and raises questions regarding current
and future responses to the destruction of heritage. Should the sites be
restored or will they now only exist “on paper”? How much money and resources
should go to restoring or excavation when villages and homes for people to live
in also need to be rebuilt?
There is a fascinating, if frantic, presentation of three archaeologist/historians speaking about what the destruction by ISIS and Islamic fundamentalists of Palmyra, Eura-Europos and Hatra – what it means to destroy a people’s heritage, their cultural identity. “It may seem frivolous to focus on [archaeological sites] when people are enslaved, killed…but to wipe out, destroy culture is a way of destroying people.”
Happening
upon this exhibit made the travel experiences we had to these extraordinary
places all the more precious.
It
is a humbling experience, to be sure, to go to the origins of the great
civilizations, fast forward to today. How did they become great? How did they
fall? Greatness is not inevitable or forever. Empires rise and fall. Rulers use religion,
art and monuments to establish their credibility and credentials to rule;
successors blot out the culture and re-write history.
(“The World Between Empires” is featured on The Met website as well as on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter using the hashtag #WorldBetweenEmpires.)
I peek
out from the American Café windows to Central Park and see sun and the early
spring blossoms on the trees, and dash out to walk through my other favorite
New York City place. There is nothing more beautiful than New York City in the
spring – brides are out in force taking photos; there are musicians and
entertainers. There is a festive atmosphere as I walk through the park toward
the Palace Hotel in time for our 4:30 pm meeting.
And now, drumroll please, Chalmers announces the
winner of the 2019 Global Scavenger Hunt: “Only one team wins. The competition
was fierce.”
3rd – Order & Chaos, Sal Iaquinta & Vivian Reyes, doctors from San
Francisco
2nd – Lazy Monday, Eric & Kathryn
Verwillow, computer networking and think tank professional of Palo Alto, California
(“I am in awe of how hard worked beginning to end – embraced the spirit,”
Chalmers says.
1st Lawyers Without Borders, Rainey Booth and Zoe Littlepage of Houston, who have competed in the Global Scavenger Hunt 12 times, and won it for the 6th time. “You embody the spirit of the event, to go out of your comfort zone.” (You can follow Zoe’s blog of her experience to get a sense of how strenuous, outrageous, and determined the team was in accumulating their points: https://zoeandraineygreatescape.blogspot.com/2019/05/gsh-2019)
We celebrate at a final bon voyage dinner.
The Global Scavenger Hunt is the brainchild of Bill and
Pamela Chalmers, who in addition to forging understanding and bonds among
travelers and the people in the destinations visited, use the program to promote
voluntourism (one of the scavenges is to volunteer at an orphanage or school
during our stay in Yangon, Myanmar, and in the past travelers visited & helped out at: Tibetan
refugee camps in Nepal, orphanages in Laos, hospitals in Cambodia, homeless
schools in India, hospices in Manila, disabled facilities in Sri Lanka,
Ethiopian schools, the slums of Nairobi) and raised money for the
GreatEscape Foundation.
“The foundation is one of main reasons we do the event,”
Chalmers says. The foundation has raised money to build 12 schools (1 each in Niger, Haiti, Ecuador, India & Ethiopia; 2
each in Sri Lanka & Sierra Leone, and 3 in Kenya), helped build the Tamensa Medical Clinic in Niger for migrating
Tuareg nomads which serves as a midwives & nurse training center too. “We
know that we saved lives and bettered the lives of hundreds. We have helped
over 2400 families in more than 60 countries (mostly women entrepreneurs) with
our interest and fee free micro-loans (96% of which have gone to women with a
99% repayment).”
Through the event this and last year, the
foundation will build 2 more co-ed elementary schools , in Ethiopia and Haiti.
TheGlobal Scavenger Hunt travel
adventure competition is aimed at returning the romance of travel while testing
the travel
IQ of the most travel savvy of globetrotters. The travelers
(who must apply and be accepted to compete) completed a series of highly
participatory, authentic and challenging cultural site-doing scavenges
in ten secret countries over a 23-day circumnavigation between April 12 and May
4, 2019 designed to bring people out of their comfort zone and trust strangers
in strange lands.
“The Global Scavenger Hunt covers a lot of
extraordinary travel bases,” says Chalmers, who dubs his mystery tour, “A blind
date with the world.”
For more information, contact GreatEscape Adventures
at 310-281-7809, or visit GlobalScavengerHunt.com.
Our
second day in Saigon, Vietnam. I am lucky enough to get on a Saigon Tours half-day
trip to Cu Chi Tunnels, an immense
network of connecting tunnels located in the Củ Chi District of Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), which
the Viet Cong used to launch guerrilla warfare against the Americans during the
Vietnam War.
(Saigon
is the second leg of nine during a 23-day, around-the-world Global Scavenger
Hunt, “A Blind Date with the World,” where we don’t know where we are going
until we are given 4-hour notice. Under the Global Scavenger Hunt rules, you
are not allowed to take a commercial tour, or hire a private guide, or even use
a taxi for more than 2 scavenges at a time, since the object is to force you to
interact with locals. I knew that even though the visit was one of the “Bonus”
scavenges, I wouldn’t get points, also my teammate Margo, was doing her own
thing in Saigon, visiting the Botanical Gardens.)
Much of the visit to Cu Chi Tunnels is interactive; a little girl gets to feel what it is like to hide underground (c) Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com
The visit is profound, and though the script is written by the victors, is appropriate to represent the side that wanted to push out colonists (though in retrospect, I realized that there was no real mention of the fact that the South Vietnamese leadership didn’t want the Communist North Korean leadership to take over, either – nothing is simple, especially not in the world of geopolitics). You have to appreciate the commitment and courage and sacrifice of the Viet Cong in living the way they did – creating a virtually self-sufficient community under ground, planting boobie traps for the Americans, repurposing unexploded bombs into weapons and old tires into sandals, cooking only at night and channeling the smoke to come up in a different place (where it would look like morning steam, so not to give away the location of the tunnels). We get to climb into a tunnel, and go 20, 40, 60, 80 up to 160 meters, seeing just how tiny they were – you have to crouch all the way through and sometimes even crawl. There is also a shooting range where you can shoot an AK 47, M16 (extra charge), but the constant sound of gunfire gives you some sense of what they were living through. There was a hospital, a wardrobe sewing area, we watch a woman demonstrate making rice paper. At the end is a film that uses grainy black-and-white imagery with a narration that spoke of the commitment to save the Fatherland from US aggression.
A visit to Handicapped Handicrafts, a government-sponsored factory that employs people with disabilities (c) Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com
On
the way back, the guide offered to make a detour to take us to a factory,
created by the government to employ people who were handicapped because of
coming upon unexploded ordinance, or who had birth defects as a result of the
chemical weapons used against the Vietnamese. Originally the factory produced
cigarettes, but today, they produce really beautiful handicrafts – mainly lacquered
and inlaid items.
The
trip provides an excellent opportunity to see other Vietnamese communities
outside of the urban center.
After returning to Saigon, I go off to continue my theme – visiting the buildings that the French built, starting with the magnificent Post Office (where I wind up spending close to an hour choosing from a stunning array of post cards, buying stamps and writing the cards), then onto the Reunification Palace (which I thought was open until 5 but closed entrance at 4), then on to the War Remnants Museum, where I visited until it closed at 6 pm, because there was so much to see and take in.
The Pulitzer-prize winning photo, “Napalm Girl,” had great impact in ending support for the Vietnam War (c) Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com
You should begin on the third level, which provides the “historic truths” (actually the background) for the Vietnam War, which more or less accurately presents the facts. On this level is a most fascinating exhibit that presents the work of the multinational brigade of war correspondents and photographers, along with a display of the dozens who were killed in the war. The photos are presented in an extraordinary way: showing the photo, then providing notes about the background, the context, and the photographer. Here too, the language (which was probably produced by the news organizations that put on the exhibit), was accurate. Among them is the famous, Pulitzer-prize winning photo of “Napalm Girl” where, for the first time, I notice the American soldiers walking along and one who looks like he is casually lighting a cigarette as this young girl is coming down the road in terror. The photos then and now are chilling, but today, they properly evoke shame.
The impact of Agent Orange in graphic display at the War Remnants Museum in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Vietnam (c) Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com
It
only gets worse on the second level, where the atrocities committed during war
are provided in the sense of artifacts, and details that could have, should
have properly been used at war crimes trials. But none took place. Another
exhibit documents the effects of Agent Orange.
The
first floor, which should be visited last, addresses the Hanoi Hilton, the
place where American prisoners of war, including Senator John McCain, were
kept. Here,though, is where it can be said the propaganda offensive takes place
– there are photos showing a female nurse bandaging an American’s head wounds,
with the caption that noted she had put down her gun in order to care for him.
This exhibit brings things up to date, with the visits of President Clinton in
1994 (in another section in noted that Clinton’s visit brought the end of
economic sanctions, and with the country’s shift to market economy, produced
revitalization, as measured by the boom in mopeds.
But on the bottom floor, they show photos of
Obama’s visit and most recently of Trump in Vietnam.
This
floor also has an exhibit devoted to the peace movement in the US and around
the world, with some famous incidents, such as the shooting of the Kent State
four.
Outside
are displays of captured American plane, tanks, and other items.
I looked around for an American who might have served in Vietnam to get an impression, but did not find anyone, and saw a few Vietnamese (most of the visitors were Americans or Europeans), but only one or two who might have been alive during that time and wondered what they thought. Clearly the conclusion of the displays was in favor of reconciliation when just as easily, and using a heavier-handed propagandist language, could have stoked hatred. The exhibit is careful not to paint all Americans and not even all American soldiers as monsters but one photo caption was particularly telling: it showed an American hauling off an ethnic minority and noted that “American troops sent to the battlefield by conscription knew nothing about Vietnam, thought the Cambodia people of ethnic minorities were living near Cambodia were collaborators for the enemy.” I left feeling that the experience was close to what you feel visiting a Holocaust Museum. And it is pain and remorse that is deserved.
A gallery of war correspondents and photographers who were killed covering the Vietnam War (c) Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com
Imagine a structure 120 feet high that can fit 2000 people for a concert, but that can move, expand, shrink or be completely removed to expose an open-air plaza. An “anti-institution” cultural institution to provide a home and nurture the full spectrum of the arts, where emerging artists, local artists, and established artists have parity, and audiences represent the diversity and inclusivity of New York with low-priced ticket holders dispersed throughout the house.
This is The Shed, the
newest cultural center to open in a city which prides culture above all, sure
to be gain a place among the pantheon of iconic art institutions, along with
its leading-edge approach to harnessing the arts as a force for social action
and public good, its astonishing architecture, flexible, versatile and
adaptable enough to enable artists of today and tomorrow and fulfill their
vision to be a platform across multi-disciplines.
It’s “the Swiss army knife” of culture,” said Daniel L. Doctoroff, chair of the board, during a press preview prior to the April 5 grand opening, when the principals involved with the genesis of the project spoke of what The Shed, and its mission, meant to the city and society.
Indeed, they noted, in a city of 1200 cultural attractions, The Shed had to be different, beginning with its commitment to commissioning new works, creating a platform – the space and place – for artists across disciplines, engaging audiences across a spectrum of backgrounds and interests, but most significantly, creating a building, that like a “living organism” would keep morphing to accommodate artists’ visions today and decades from now, accommodating the unimaginable ways art and culture might change over time.
Six and a half years ago, after seeing a 60-second animation of what The Shed could be, purpose-built to house various forms of culture and building would move, John Tisch, vice chair of the new institution, told his wife, “The Shed is about future of NYC and we need to be involved.”
“6 ½ years later, here
we are discovering the future of NYC and how we as citizens and creators of
this institution will discuss culture and humanity, how we all need to be
together in the 21st century in NYC.
“There are many cultural institutions – many are about the past. The Shed is about the future.”
“The dictionary defines ‘shed’ as an opened-ended structure with tools,” said Doctoroff. “We designed The Shed as a platform, uniquely adaptable, to liberate artists to fulfill their dreams.”
More than a dozen years
ago, Doctoroff said, The Shed “started as small square on map, a placeholder
for To Be Determined cultural institution.
“Mayor Bloomberg said ‘Make
it different from anything else in New York City.’ That’s not easy in a town of
1200 cultural institutions. It had to play a role in a new edge of New York
City, keeping New York City as leading edge of the cultural world.”
Liz Diller of Diller
Scofidio + Renfro, lead architect, and David Rockwell of Rockwell Group, collaborating
architect, responded to the mandate for flexibility, a one-of-a-kind structure.
“Just as it was to be designed
to be flexible, we wanted it to be of and for our time and inclusive of artists
across all disciplines,” Doctoroff said. “We proposed commissions of emerging
artists across all art forms – the mission drives our work.
“It is a remarkable
public/private investment of $500 million to design and construct building and
create original works of art.
“New York City continues
to be perfect partner under Mayor DiBlasio. The city provided $75 million and
the land.
“We are standing in The McCourt,
a spectacular space that can do anything an artist can imagine. It was named
for the Board member who gave $45 million.
“Griffin Theater was named
for one of most generous philanthropists, Ken Griffin, who gave $25 million.
“Altice USA is the
founding fiber network partner – so that The Shed is an accessible arts
organization with global reach, the first cultural institution with connectivity
partner.
“Above all, Mayor
Bloomberg, who had vision to transform West Side and create cultural
institution as beating heart. The Shed is housed the Bloomberg Building, named
for Mayor Bloomberg.
“It’s been a 14-year
journey – kind of crazy, new kind of cultural institution in a completely new
building in new part of town, new board, new team, performing miracles every
day, producing our own work.
“Great architecture
demands great purpose,” Doctoroff said.
Alex Poots, the Artistic Director and CEO, said, “I started to imagine the possibilities: a flexible building, built on city land. That was the draw to lure me from England –a public purpose. It was a no brainer, building on what I had been doing for 15 years. [Poots is also involved with the Manchester Festival and with the Park Avenue Armory.]
“Parity among art forms;
the ability to commission art – visual and performing arts. And it would not
matter if the artist were emerging, established, or a community artist – we don’t
need a false hierarchy.
“The Shed is place for
invention, curiosity where all artists and audiences can meet.
Alongside all the
venerable institutions of city, we hope The Shed can add something.
“It’s rare for a place to be open in the day as a
museum, and in the evening a performance center.”
Poots introduced the 2019 inaugural season’s first commissions (and the press were able to watch some rehearsals):
Soundtrack of
America,
a new live production celebrating the unrivaled impact of African American
music on art and popular culture over the past 100 years, conceived by
acclaimed filmmaker and artist Steve McQueenand developed with music visionaries and academic experts
including Quincy Jones, Maureen Mahon, Dion ‘No I.D.’ Wilson, Tunji Balogun and
Greg Philliganes, is a five-night concert series (April 5-14) celebrating the
unrivaled impact of African American music on contemporary culture, with performances
by emerging musicians.
Reich
Richter Pärt,
a live performance/exhibition pairing works by master painter Gerhard
Richter with a new composition by Steve Reich and an extant
composition by Arvo Pärt, performed by The Choir of Trinity Wall Street
(April 6-June 2).
Norma
Jeane Baker of Troy, a reinvention of Euripides’ Helen by
poet Anne Carson, starring Ben Whishaw and the opera singer, Renée
Fleming (April 6-May 19).
Björk’s Cornucopia, the
multidisciplinary artist’s most elaborate staged concert to date, directed by
Lucrecia Martel (May 6-June 1).
Dragon Spring Phoenix
Rise. a
futuristic kung fu musical conceived by Chen Shi-Zheng and Kung Fu
Panda screenwriters Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger, with
songs by Sia, choreography by Akram Khan, and production design
and costumes by Tim Yip (June 22–July 27);
There are also, expansive exhibitions devoted to
extant and newly commissioned work by trailblazing artists Trisha Donnelly and
Agnes Denes; and an unprecedented opportunity for New York City-based
emerging artists of all disciplines to develop and showcase their work
throughout The Shed’s spaces via an Open Call commissioning program.
Beneath the stands and
stage in The McCourt is the only permanent art installation, “In Front of
Itself,” a large-scale, site-specific work by artist Lawrence Weiner embedded
into the plaza. It serves as a walkable outdoor area when the movable shell is
nested over the fixed building, or as the base of The McCourt when the shell is
extended to the east. The 20,000-sq. ft. work features the phrase, “In front of
itself” in 12-foot high letters fabricated with custom paving stones.
These first commissions,
Poots said, “shows the range of The Shed.” The flexibility of the building
makes it possible to transform from one show to the next in just two days.
Tamara McCaw, Chief Program Civic Officer, is responsible for fulfilling the mission of The Shed to use art as social action.
“It is my responsibility
to serve the community, particularly those under stress or have barriers [to
artistic expression]. ]
McCaw oversees the Open
Call program, an unprecedented opportunity for 52 New York City-based emerging
artists and collectives to develop and showcase their work throughout The
Shed’s primary spaces, free to the public (May 30-August 25) and continuing in
2020.
The 52 artists were
selected from 930 applications in its first open call. Alex Poots said that The
Shed will embark on its next round of emerging talent in 5-6 months.
The Shed has year round
social justice residencies, serving 700 students a year
“We are providing a platform for local and
emerging artists – selected by diverse panel and Shed staff (2 are on the panel
– to present in principal spaces, plaza, theater.” These performances and
exhibits will be free to public.
“It is our civic
responsibility to reflect, respond to the diverse communities of NYC – with
affordable tickets ($10; free for 18 year olds and under and CUNY students),
and reserve 10% of low-income seats that will be distributed throughout house
(not the back or nosebleed section)
Addressing how The Shed
intends to be responsive to diverse audiences, Doctoroff noted that the
building is open – the restaurant, café and lobby. Anyone can come through
without a ticket, and every gallery and theater can be separately ticketed. The
goal is to make access to exhibits and performers and accessible as possible.
McCaw added, “People
from public housing are already are coming because they are of process. We did
outreach for open call. There are artists who live in public housing here. When
you come with respect, people want to be involved.
“We are creating inventive
new work, supporting creative expression, cultural equity and belief in power
of art to effect social change.”
Ticket prices are
intentionally low. Every gallery show – except Richter – is $10 ticket and free
for those under 18. Open call programs are free (18 weeks of programming)
At the end of the first
year, he expects that half the entire
audience will be admitted for $10 or free.
The Shed, a
not-for-profit arts institution, expects to operate at a loss.
“That means we have to
raise money,” Doctoroff said. “But we regard it as investing in society, not as
a loss. The less box office, the more generous we are. There are high ticket
prices for those who can afford it and low for those who can’t – low cost
tickets are equally dispersed through theater, to promote equity.”
A good source of real
money, though, could be in renting out space in The Lizzie and
Jonathan Tisch Skylights and The Tisch Lab on the top floor, Level 8, where there is a
1,700-square-foot creative lab for local artists, a 3,300-square-foot rehearsal
space, and a 9,500-square-foot flexible, multipurpose space for events.
“The Top floor is engine
for that flexible space – dinners, small performances – will be rented year
round while operating as not-for-profit art center.”
Frank H. McCourt Jr., Shed board member and entrepreneur, reflected, “There is something else here – civic imagination, ideas put into action to serve people – address societal issues, change lives, make a better nation, a better humankind.
“It is artistic creation
but also social innovation. Human creativity for the greater good. My hope for The
Shed is that it is home for both art and other intellectual activities. This
place, including the institution created to animate it, is a bold, living
example of civic action. An idea put into action for greater good.
“It’s not finished, just
getting started. This week a milestone. In a world replete with cynicism, The
Shed is the opposite.”
An Architectural Marvel
“We started the project 11 years ago – when it was a dotted line on a satellite photo and a question mark. It was the 2008 recession,” reflected Liz Diller, lead architect, who described what it was like to design a building around a mission.
“Arts in New York are
siloed – dance, theater, music, visual. That’s not how artists think today, but
how will artists think in one or two decades? We can’t know. We started a project
without a client, an anti-institution institution, to serve artists of all
kinds in a future we could not predict.
“How could architecture
not get in the way of that? Art is in flux, so the building had to be able to change
on demand, be flexible without defaulting.”
What she and collaborating
architect David Rockwell devised is a fixed building with column-free exhibit
and performance space, the Bloomberg Building.
The
Shed’s Bloomberg Building—an innovative 200,000-square-foot structure designed
by Diller Scofidio + Renfro, Lead Architect, and Rockwell Group, Collaborating
Architect—can physically transform to support artists’ most ambitious ideas.
Its eight-level base building includes two levels of gallery space; the
versatile Griffin Theater; and The Tisch Skylights, which comprise a
rehearsal space, a creative lab for local artists, and a skylit event space.
The McCourt,
an iconic space for large-scale performances, installations, and events, is
formed when The Shed’s telescoping outer shell is deployed from over the base
building and glides along rails onto the adjoining plaza. The McCourt can have theater seating for 1400,
or open the glass wall to expose the balcony for 300 seated and have 2000 on
the floor.
The Plaza:
When the movable shell is nested over the base building, the 20,000-square-foot
Plaza will be open public space that also can be used for outdoor programming;
the eastern façade can serve as a backdrop for projection with lighting and
sound support. The Plaza is equipped with a distributed power supply for
outdoor functions. Oversize deliveries can be brought by truck up Hudson Yards
Boulevard and loaded directly onto The Plaza and into the base building or the
shell when deployed. Those doors can be opened while the audience is under
cover, for an open-air effect.
“It is the architecture
of infrastructure: all muscle, no fat,”
Diller said. “Alex, an inspirational alchemical force, challenged the building
to be smarter, more flexible, agile. This is a perpetual work in progress –
always getting smarter more agile.
It will respond to the challenge
of artists and challenge the artists back.”
“New York is so defined by art and its artists. Art creates community, at its best, and empathy with audiences,” said Architect David Rockwell.
“What we created
is a Swiss Army knife of culture,” said Doctoroff. “A beautiful design with
practicality to respond to the notion that we don’t know where art will go, or
where artists will be in 200 years.”
The Shed’s
eight-level base building includes two expansive, column-free galleries
totaling 25,000 square feet of museum-quality space; a 500-seat theater that
can be subdivided into even more intimate spaces; event and rehearsal space;
and a creative lab.
A movable
outer shell can double the building’s footprint when deployed over the
adjoining plaza to create a 17,000-square-foot light-, sound-, and
temperature-controlled space, named The McCourt, for large-scale performances,
installations, and events for audiences ranging from 1,250 seated to 3,000
standing (when combined with space in the two adjoining galleries of the base
building). When space is not needed, the movable shell can nest over the base
building, opening up the plaza for outdoor use and programming.
Diller
explained how the movable shell travels on a double-wheel track based on gantry
crane technology commonly found in shipping ports and railway systems. A
rack-and-pinion drive moves the shell forward and back on four single-axle and
two double axle bogie wheels that measure six feet in diameter; the deployment
of the shell takes approximately five minutes.
The
exposed steel diagrid frame of the movable shell is clad in translucent pillows
of durable and lightweight Teflon-based polymer, called ethylene
tetrafluoroethylene (ETFE). With the thermal properties of insulating glass
at 1/100th of the weight, the
translucent ETFE allows light to pass through and can withstand hurricane-force
winds. Measuring almost 70 feet in length in some areas, The Shed’s ETFE panels
are some of the largest ever produced.
“Systems were adapted from
other things but it is novel in the way we put together,” Diller said, adding
that the architecture is “based on industrial crane technology, brought to 21st century”
with an emphasis on functionality. But there were no real models among arts
institutions.
“It was a constant process
of invention, reinvention,” said Doctoroff. “We have 14 blackout shades. We had
to rethink the system of shades – particularly when Alex came and knew he wanted
concerts. They needed to also provide sound protection. We went to the sailmakers
who designed sails for America’s Cup boats to design shade system. Extra
performance capability of holding back 108 decibels (loud). The thickness,
density had to be able to roll up.”
Asked why New York needed another cultural institution, Doctoroff retorted, “Why have we been so successful raising money? Because people sense New York does need this. The criteria was that this had to be different from anything else in New York. We went to talk to artists and leaders of cultural institutions around the world to ask what do they not have and need. There were similar themes –the internet era gives artists the capacity of collaborating across distances and disciplines, but also producing work that didn’t fit in traditional institutions. Out of that came idea of flexibility.
“This is different: our
mission of inclusivity embedded in value system,” said Doctoroff, said in a
small discussion group with journalists.
“We prove it every day.
This is personal for me: 36 years ago I imagined a new West Side – saving the
Highline [now one of the most popular attractions in NYC, with 8 million visits
a year], the subway. I always believed having a cultural heart to the new West
Side was critical and would need to change over time to keep New York leading
edge in culture. I believe cultural institutions are critical to New York,”
said Doctoroff, who is also chairman and CEO of Sidewalk Labs, an Alphabet
company that looks at sustainable solutions to designing urban communities.
“The Shed will never be
finished,” said Doctoroff. “The word ‘unfinished’ ends with ‘shed’. It will
always be evolving because what we’ve done is created a platform for artists to
use as their own. The building enables their vision – they will push, stretch
us in ways we can’t imagine, they can’t imagine today. The Shed is an organism
that keeps morphing.”
And that’s how Liz
Diller expects not to go through post partum blues. “We will respond to the
challenge of artists and challenge artists back.”
One of the most popular attractions
in Venice and dominating the most popular square, San Marco, the Doge Palace is
unbelievably crowded with tourists during the day who can stand on line for a
long time and then struggle inside for views of the fantastic art. But on my
recent trip, I discovered that the Doge Palace and three other museums stay
open on Fridays and Saturdays until 11 pm (last entrance at 10 pm) and the
ticket is valid at all four of the museums and valid for three months. The experience of visiting the Doge Palace at
night is incomparable.
I waltz in at 7:30 pm without
waiting at all and find myself in these rooms – grand doesn’t begin to describe
them – by myself or with at most a handful of other people. All of us are
breathless. No one speaks. The silence is thrilling.
The art work – monumental pieces by
titans of the Renaissance – fill the massive walls and the entire ceiling. One
room is grander and bigger and more gilded than the next, and at this hour, at
this moment, it feels like all of this is for me and me alone.
Besides the extraordinary
magnificence of the artwork throughout the Doge Palace, I realize from the
notes I read afterward that the palace harbors a fascinating history of
government of this early republic, which for two centuries
dominated trade between Europe and Asia. Venice’s powerful influence
extended from the city at the western edge of the old Byzantine Empire, to the
eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea.
I go through the rooms taking in the visual
sights, overwhelmed, really by the art – the majestic paintings in gilded
frames that completely cover the walls and ceiling, the architectural details.
The rooms are fairly dark and I don’t take the time or struggle to read the
notes that are provided. Later, when I review the notes provided, I better
appreciate the historical significance, where the art and the architecture were
representations of the structure of government and the rulers, comparable to
the Capitol Building, Supreme Court and White House, combined, though hundreds
of years older.
For two centuries, the Venetian Republic dominated trade
between Europe and Asia, its influence extending from the
city at the western edge of the Byzantine Empire to the eastern Mediterranean
and the Black Sea.
The palace dates back to before the
10th century but, after a fire, was rebuilt by Doge Sebastiano Ziani
(1172-1178), a great reformer who also changed the layout of St. Mark’s Square.
The palace had to be expanded several times “to
accommodate political changes and the increase in number of people who had the
right to participate in the legislative assembly meetings” (an intriguing
phrase). The Chamber of the Great Council (just one room in this palace)
accommodated 1,200 to 2,000 noblemen. The thought is mind-boggling.
After another huge fire in 1577 destroyed many of the
masterpieces, reconstruction was undertaken
immediately to restore it to its original appearance, which was completed by
1579-80.
Until then, the Doge’s Palace housed not only the
Doge’s apartments, the seat of the government and the city’s courtrooms, but
also a jail. It was only in the second half of the 16th century that Antonio da
Ponte ordered the construction of new prisons, built by Antonio Contin around
1600, which were linked to the Doge’s Palace by the Bridge of Sighs, built in
1614. Relocating the prisons left the old space on the ground floor of the
palace free, which led to the creation of the courtyard.
Looking through the Bridge of Sighs, Doge Palace, Venice (c) Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com
The famous Bridge
of Sighs dates from the Romantic period, its name supposedly referring to
the sighs of prisoners who, passing from the courtroom to the cell in which
they would serve their sentence, took a last look at freedom as they glimpsed
the lagoon and San Giorgio through the filigree openings.
Crossing over the Bridge of Sighs is one of the
most thrilling aspects of the visit, especially at night, with the golden
lights reflected on blue-black water. You peer through the openings, just as
these prisoners would have. It is
somewhat surreal to look down at the bridge from which you saw the Bridge of
Sighs hours before, and imagine what prisoners must have thought as they had
their last glimpse of that glorious scene. And then going into the prison
itself, surreal considering it was mere steps away from the grandeur of the
palace.
Inspecting the prison cells, Doge Palace, Venice (c) Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com
But there is still so much more to
see – it seems that the palace just goes on and on.
The Chamber of the Great Council, restructured in the 14th century, was decorated with a
fresco by Guariento and later with works by the most famous artists of the
period, including Gentile da Fabriano, Pisanello, Alvise Vivarini,
Carpaccio, Bellini, Pordenone and Titian. At
53 meters long and 25 meters wide, this is not only the largest and most
majestic chamber in the Doge’s Palace, but also one of the largest rooms in
Europe.
The Great Council was the
most important political body in the Republic. An ancient institution, the Council
was made up of all the male members over 25 years old of patrician Venetian
families, irrespective of their individual status, merits or wealth. “This was
why, in spite of the restrictions in its powers that the Senate introduced over
the centuries, the Great Council continued to be seen as bastion of republican
equality. The Council had the right to call to account all the other
authorities and bodies of the State when it seemed that their powers were
getting excessive and needed to be trimmed. The 1,200 to 2,000 noblemen who sat
in the Council always considered themselves guardians of the laws that were the
basis of all the other authorities within the State.”
This room was also where the first steps in the
election of a new Doge would take place. These voting procedures were extremely
long and complex in order to frustrate any attempts of cheating. Every Sunday,
when the bells of St. Mark’s rang, the Council members would gather in the hall
with the Doge presiding at the center of the podium and his counselors
occupying double rows of seats that ran the entire length of the room.
The walls are decorated with works by Paolo
Caliari (known as Paolo Veronese), Jacopo and Domenico Tintoretto, and Palma il Giovane. depicting Venetian history, particularly the city’s relations with the
papacy and the Holy Roman Empire; the ceiling is decorated with the Virtues and
examples of Venetian heroism, with an allegorical glorification of the Republic
in the center. Facing each other in groups of six, the 12 wall paintings depict
acts of valor or scenes of war that had occurred during the city’s history. A
frieze with portraits of the first 76 doges (the portraits of the others are in
the Sala dello Scrutinio) runs just under the ceiling. Though commissioned from
Jacopo Tintoretto, most of these paintings are the work of his son, Domenico.
Each Doge holds a scroll bearing a reference to his most important
achievements, while Doge Marin Faliero, who attempted a coup d’état in 1355, is
represented simply by a black cloth – a traitor to the Republic, he was not
only condemned to death but also to damnatio
memoriae, the total eradication of his memory and name.
Along the wall behind the Doge’s throne is one of
the longest canvas paintings in the world, the Paradiso, which Jacopo
Tintoretto and workshop produced between 1588 and 1592 to replace the Guariento
fresco that had been damaged in the fire.
The Council Chamber was where two
separate and independent organs of power, the Savi and the Signoria, would meet.
The Savi was divided into three sections concerned with
foreign policy, mainland Italy and maritime issues. The
Signoria was made up of the three Heads of the Councils of Forty and members of
the Minor Council, composed of the Doge and six councilors, one for each
district of the city of Venice. The Council was organized and coordinated the
work of the Senate, reading dispatches from ambassadors and city governors,
receiving foreign delegations and promoting other political and legislative
activity.
The Sala
dei Pregadi housed the Senate, one of the oldest public institutions in
Venice. Established in the 13th century,
it evolved over time until by the 16th century it was the body mainly
responsible for overseeing political and financial affairs in manufacturing,
trade and foreign policy. In effect, it served as a sub-committee of the Great
Council and its members were generally drawn from the wealthiest Venetian
families.
The Chamber of the Council of Ten is named for the council that was set up after a conspiracy
in 1310, when Bajamonte Tiepolo and other noblemen tried to overthrow the
government. “Initially meant as a provisional body to try those conspirators,
the Council of Ten is one of many examples of Venetian institutions that were
intended to be temporary but which became permanent.” Its authority covered all
sectors of public life, a power that gave rise to its reputation as a ruthless,
all-seeing tribunal at the service of the ruling oligarchy, a court whose
sentences were handed down rapidly after secret hearings. The assembly was made
up of ten members chosen from the Senate and elected by the Great Council. These
ten sat with the Doge and his six counselors, which accounts for the 17
semicircular outlines that you can still see in the chamber.
The Compass Room was used
for the administration of justice. It was named for the large wooden compass with
a statue of Justice, that stands in one corner and hides the entrance to the
rooms of the three Heads of the Council of Ten and the State Inquisitors. Those
summoned by these powerful magistrates waited here to be called; the
magnificent decor was intended to reinforce the solemnity of the Republic’s
legal machinery.
So much of the exquisite decoration we see, which
dates from the 16th century, was commissioned from Veronese. Completed in 1554, the works he produced are all
intended to exalt the “good government” of the Venetian Republic; the central
panel, with St. Mark descending to crown the three Theological Virtues, is a
copy of the original, now in the Louvre.
The Chamber of Censors was an
office which was established in 1517 to address “the cultural and political
upheavals that are associated with Humanism.” The State Censors “were more like
moral consultants than judges, with their main task being the repression of
electoral fraud and the protection of the State’s public institutions.” The
walls display Domenico Tintoretto’s portraits of these magistrates.
The Chamber of the State Advocacies: This State Advocacy department dates from the 12th
century, when Venice was organized as a commune. The three members, the
Avogadori, safeguarded the principle of legality, making sure that laws were
applied correctly. Though they never enjoyed the status and power of the Doge
and the Council of Ten, the Avogadori remained one of the most prestigious
authorities in Venice right up to the fall of the Republic. They were also
responsible for preserving the integrity of the city’s patrician class,
verifying the legitimacy of marriages and births inscribed in the Golden Book.
The “Scrigno” Room. The
Venetian nobility as a caste came into existence because of the “closure” of
admissions to the Great Council in 1297; but it was only in the 16th century
that formal restrictions that protected the status of that aristocracy were
introduced: marriages between nobles and commoners were forbidden so greater
controls were set up to check the validity of aristocratic titles. Golden and
Silver books registered all those families that not only had the requisites of
“civilization” and “honor”, but could also show that they were of ancient
Venetian origin. The Golden and Silver Books were kept in a chest inside a
cupboard that also contained all the documents proving the legitimacy of
claims. The 18th century cupboard we see today extends around three
sides of a wall niche; lacquered in white with gilded decorations.
The Armourny, Doge Palace, Venice (c) Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com
The Armoury houses an
important historical collection of weapons and armaments. The core of the
collection is 14th century, dating from the time when the Armoury was under the
control of the Council of Ten and stocked with weapons that would be readily
available for the Palace’s guards. The collection was partially dispersed after
the fall of the Republic, but still contains some 2000 exhibits, including 15th
and 16th century suits of armor, swords, halberds, quivers and crossbows. Many
are inscribed or painted monogram CX – for “Council of Ten” – which also
appears on the door jambs, evidence of the Council’s might. The Turkish
implements – weapons, standards and ships’ lanterns – that are displayed were
taken from the enemy during battle. The collection also displays 16th and 17th
century firearms; implements of torture; a chastity belt; and a series of small
but lethal weapons that were prohibited by law.
The Doge’s Palace was the heart of the political life and
public administration of the Venetian Republic, so after the fall of the
Republic in 1797, its role inevitably changed. Venice first fell under French
rule, then Austrian, and ultimately, in 1866, became part of a united Italy.
Up until the end of the 19th century, the
Palazzo Ducale was occupied by various administrative offices and housed
important cultural institutions such as the Biblioteca Marciana (from 1811
to 1904). But by then, the structure was showing signs of decay. The Italian
government set aside sizeable sums for an extensive restoration. Public offices
were relocated with the exception of the State Office for the Protection of Historical
Monuments, which is still housed in the building (now called Superintendence of
the Environmental and Architectural Heritage of Venice and its Lagoon). In
1923, the Italian state which owns the building, appointed the City Council to
manage it as a public museum. In 1996, the Doge’s Palace became part of the Civic
Museums of Venice network.
San Marco Square, Venice, at night (c) Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com
ST. MARK’S SQUARE MUSEUMS TICKET A single ticket
valid for the Doge’s Palace and the combined itinerary of Museo Correr,
Museo Archeologico Nazionale and Monumental Rooms of the Biblioteca Nazionale
Marciana. This ticket is valid for 3 months and grants one single
admission to the Doge’s Palace and the combined itinerary. (20E for regular
ticket; 13 E for children 6-14, students 15-25, seniors over 65 and holders of
International Student Identity Card) (http://palazzoducale.visitmuve.it/en/the-museum/doges-palace/the-palace/)
MUSEUM PASS The Museum Pass the cumulative
ticket for the permanent collection of the Musei Civici of Venice currently
open and for those connected (Palazzo Fortuny and Clock Tower not
included). This ticket is valid for 6 months and grants one single
admission to each museum. The Museum Pass grants entrance to: The St Mark’s
Square museums : – Doge’s Palace – combined itinerary of Museo Correr, Museo
Archeologico Nazionale, Monumental Rooms of the Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana,
plus other civic museums of Venice: Ca’ Rezzonico – Museum of
18th-Century Venice; Museum of Palazzo Mocenigo; Carlo Goldoni’s
House; Ca’ Pesaro, International Gallery of Modern Art + Oriental Art
Museum; Glass Museum – Murano; Lace Museum – Burano; Natural
History Museum. (24E or 18 E), www.visitmuve.it.
Venice (c) Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com
I wander back through the narrow alleys of the old city,
stopping to listen to a musician fill a plaza with his music, to the tram that
takes me back to the Hotel Alexander in Mestre. Tomorrow, Eric and I will start
our eight-day self-guided bike tour that will take us about 300 miles to
Trieste, Slovenia and Croatia.
(We booked our 8-day self-guided “Venice-Trieste-Istria” bike tour through BikeTours.com, a broker which has an excellent catalog of well-priced guided and self-guided bike and bike/boat trips, mostly in Europe, and has very attentive counselors. Biketours.com, 1222 Tremont Street , Chattanooga, TN 37405, 423-756-8907, 877-462-2423, www.biketours.com,[email protected]).
One of the smartest
choices I make in preparation for a week-long self-guided bike tour from Venice
to Trieste to Istria (Slovenia to Croatia) is to arrive a day earlier. This
gives me the unsurpassed luxury of spending a day wandering around Venice
without a plan or an objective, just to follow whim and whimsy and take in the
incomparable essence of this enchanting city. I am transfixed by Venice – the
colors, the constant motion, the angles, the architecture, how you never know
what you will see around any corner, how getting lost leads to new discovery. I
have that cherished time to really focus on details.
Eric, my son who will be
biking with me, will be arriving the next day, and I have made my way from
Marco Polo International Airport to the Hotel Alexander, on the mainland, in
Mestre by public bus (following the directions provided by FunActive, the tour
company). I drop my bags and have most of the day to explore on my own.
The hotel that has been
selected on the FunActiv tour (self-guided means that they have booked the inns
and laid out the route, provide the rental bikes and support, a ferry the
luggage each day to the next inn) which I booked through Biketours.com, is well
located, just a short walk to a tram that comes frequently (they tell me where
to buy the ticket, at a convenience store) and whisks me in comfort to the
magnificent old city in 15 minutes.
Before I left the hotel,
I had spotted a flyer about a new Leonardo Da Vinci Museum and am delighted
when, serendipitously, I find myself right in front of it, next door to Chiesa
di San Rocco, a church where a concert is underway. I listen for awhile and
then go into the Museum.
What distinguishes the Leonardo Da Vinci Museum is that it is designed as a laboratory for experimentation and curiosity – actually giving you insights into the mind of Leonardo da Vinci by bringing his manuscripts, schematics and drawings to reality. Engineers have recreated large-scale models of Da Vinci’s inventions from his own plans “created through the skillful craftsmanship typical of the Renaissance workshops” which you can touch and maneuver. Essentially, you get to play with DaVinci’s inventions – delighting children of all ages. The museum also exhibits DaVinci’s anatomical studies. A special space is dedicated to his main pictorial works including the Mona Lisa and Annunciation, reproduced using high-resolution backlight technology.(Open daily, Scuola Grand di San Rocco, www.davincimuseum.it).
My motto, “Seize the day” (and waste
no time) serves me well, because my first day is sunny, bringing out the colors
of Venice – along with everyone else. Venice is unbelievably crowded with
tourists– like Times Square but on a much, much bigger scale– and quite warm
and humid. But I don’t mind and I find myself wandering down streets and alleys
in neighborhoods (and they are really neighborhoods, where Venetians live) that
are amazingly uncrowded and quiet.
I periodically take refuge in churches
to get out of the heat and take a bit of a rest and often am pleasantly
surprised to discover art and music.
One of the delights of
Venice is that it is set up like a labyrinth of warrens, alleys, bridges over
canals, so you are constantly surprised by the scenes that come into view as
you walk about.
Venice (c) Karen Rubin/goingplacesfarandnear.com
The most popular is the
famous view from the Rialto Bridge at the center of the city where you
literally have to wait your turn to get a photo.
The narrow alleys all of a sudden
open up into the famous square of San Marco and I come upon the Basilica of San
Marco with its ornate decoration. There is so much to see and do here in the
piazza, which remarkably has retained the same look as depicted in Renaissance
paintings.
At San Marco, I stand on a bridge
the gondoliers go under to get to the Bridge of Sighs – that famous place in
the Doge Palace where prisoners would be taken to their cramped, damp cells,
across this bridge with the last view of the open sky and their last breath of
fresh air. It’s like rush hour of the gondolas. I admire the skill with which
they deftly turn 90-degree corners and avoid hitting each other or smack into
the pilings. The choreography of their floating dance is amazing – I notice the
oar lock the gondoliers use, shaped in such a way that they get a different
angle to control their stroke.
What really strikes me is that
despite the crowds, how clean Venice’s streets are (though there is graffiti,
more a reflection of political climate) and how fresh. This wasn’t the case
when I last visited, 10 years ago.
I linger in the Piazza San Marco for
a time, and am sitting on marble benches under an archway
at the Doge Palace when I hear thunder. Last time I was here, the city was
flooded – platforms mysteriously would appear on the streets that you had to
walk over to avoid wading in six inches of water – a worrisome warning that
Venice may at some point become submerged altogether with rising sea level.
No one seems particularly bothered
by the thunder, not even the street vendors. I take the tram back to the hotel,
and just before I get there, the thunderstorm starts.
The next morning is raining, but no
matter. I hop the tram again, a five-minute walk from the Hotel Alexander
through the neighborhood for the ride into Venice, and this time, after
crossing over the bridge that provides entrance to the Old City (and apparently
closes at night to those who aren’t living or staying here) go left at the fork
instead of right. I walk over a bridge and see a sign pointing to the Jewish
Ghetto and follow it. I come upon a group of Israeli tourists huddled under a
passageway leading into the Jewish quarter as their guide gives her talk. I
walk ahead and find the synagogue, where Sabbath services are just finishing,
guarded by city soldiers who don’t let me in.
The last time I was in Venice, I
happened upon Chabad gathering for Shabbat dinner and was invited in. The
Chabad are actively repopulating European cities that emptied their Jewish
communities during the Holocaust.
I have a few hours before Eric
arrives and we have our orientation with a FunActive guide for our bike tour. I
make my way to San Marco again, before walking back to the depot to get the
tram back to the hotel, in time for Eric and the guide to arrive.
We spend about an hour with Anthony,
the FunActive guide, actually hurrying him along because we are so anxious to
get back to Venice so Eric can have some time there. Anthony persists: going
over the day-by-day maps, pointing out sights we might look out for, and
alternative routes we can take, and then fits us to the bikes we will be
taking.
By the time we get to Venice in the
afternoon, the rain has cleared. We return together to the Jewish Ghetto and
wander from there. I let Eric take the lead so he can have that same delight in
discovering Venice for himself.
It is important to realize that
Venice is a place where people live (signs ask visitors to respect the
residents), and coming in this way, through the Jewish Ghetto, we find many
streets – very quiet streets – that are simply neighborhoods off the beaten
tourist track. Laundry stretched across the canal.
Eric uses his tech prowess (and the
AFAR app) to find a restaurant, which gives a purpose and focus to our
wandering through the streets. We arrive at Al
Portego just in time before all the tables would be reserved for dinner.
After dinner, we walk to San Marco,
which is especially magical at night. I have saved visiting the Doge Palace for
the evening (the Doge Palace and three other museums stay open on Fridays and
Saturdays until 11 pm, last entrance at 10 pm) so that Eric could see it as
well. But Eric is too exhausted after having traveled all day and heads back to
the hotel.
I waltz in at 7:30 pm without
waiting at all – such a contrast to the daytime when the lines are long and
hundreds of people, including massive tour groups, funnel in at once. The
ticket, I learn, is valid at all four museums and good for three months.
Unfortunately, I won’t be able to take advantage, but the ticket is well worth
it.
Priceless, in fact.
I find myself in these rooms – grand
doesn’t begin to describe it – by myself or with at most five other people. All
of us are breathless. No one speaks. The silence is thrilling.
The art work – monumental pieces by
titans of the Renaissance – fill the massive walls and the entire ceiling. One
room is grander and bigger and more gilded than the next, and at this hour, at
this moment, it feels like all of this is for me and me alone.
Next: A Night Visit to the Doge Palace
(We booked our 8-day self-guided
“Venice-Trieste-Istria” self-guided bike tour through BikeTours.com, a broker
which has an excellent catalog of well-priced guided and self-guided bike and
bike/boat trips, mostly in Europe, and has very attentive counselors.
Biketours.com, 1222 Tremont Street , Chattanooga, TN 37405, 423 756-8907, 877 462-2423, www.biketours.com,
[email protected] ).
